People (always) say that they can't lose weight because they feel deprived. Or that "healthy" food tastes bad. To both of those I say bolshevik! You can eat whatever foods you want after a few simple (mostly unnoticed) changes to the recipe and still make your goals.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Ham (or Chicken, or Beef) Stock

The meal is over, you've carved the excess meat off the bone and packaged it away and now you're about to take the remains to the trash.

STOP!

You're holding a flavorful treasure in your hands. If you don't have time that night wrap the bones up for the next day. It takes a while to cook but there's practically zero prep time and it's very low maintenance.

What am I talking about? Stock of course! Oh you don't think you'd ever use it? Do you make mashed potatoes? Rice? Casseroles? Soups? Sauces? Packaged seasoned noodles? If you answered "yes" to any of these then you WILL use your stock.

If you didn't answer "yes" to any of them I guess you eat a lot of fried eggs and sandwiches. In which case it's time to branch out and try new things.

If you'd like to add salt, pepper, herbs, feel free to do so. Unless I have a specific meal in mind I like to keep my stock neutral so that it can work in any dish.

Storing options: This can be frozen or put in the refrigerator. My method of storing is to put them in an ice cube tray- let it freeze- then package the cubes in a gallon size freezer bag.

My ice cube trays hold 1 ounce per cube so when adding to recipes it takes just a moment of math to drop the right amount of cubes in.

At first you might forget it's there, even I'm guilty of pouring in water instead of the stock, but soon it will be second nature.

You might think it a small saving when you could purchase a can for $0.50 cents, but this gives you complete control and you know exactly what is in your stock and how fresh it is. Plus it's literally as simple as boiling water. Try it out. I promise your everyday dishes will have a little something extra in flavor and you'll be more satisfied as a result.